Mary, Mother of the new world
Today our Mother, the Church celebrates the day when, our mother Mary was taken into heaven body and soul at the end of her earthly life. That is the Assumption. This is for us a day of joy, for God has won; Love has conquered over death. For late Pope Benedict XIV: “We have a Mother in heaven. And the Mother of God, the Mother of the Son of God, is our Mother.” Our salvation is total, body and soul. Mary is the first definitively saved following Jesus.
God is Mighty and Great
Today’s Gospel, the “Magnificat” portrays the true life of Mary. In the assumption, we celebrate the life of Mary who “magnifies” the Lord and “proclaims God’s greatness”. Yes God is great even too Great that he can intrude on our freedom, our vital space. Mary was open to this possibility. She was not oppressed but raised and expanded. Contrary to our Mother Mary, most of us like Adam and Eve (Genesis 3), the prodigal son (Luke 15) we often think that God does not give us our freedom; he restricts the space in our lives. We want to be independent or autonomous without God. But we always end up becoming slaves of our illusions. Mary teaches us that accepting God's greatness in our lives automatically opens us to his holy will and his divine splendor becomes ours. This necessitates a life of prayer which gives sense and directions to our public and personal lives.
Loving and living God’s Word
Mary was “at home” with God’s word. The word was made flesh in her; she lived on God’s word, she was penetrated by God’s word. This endowed her with the inner enlightenment of wisdom. Loving the word of God like Mary would help us think with God and think well. If we allow the word of God to speak to us as it spoke to Mary, we too will live well and speak well. This can give us valid criteria to judge all the things of the world. We will become prudent, wise, good, strong, and courageous and endowed with God’s strength to resist evil and foster good in the world. Mary, through her Assumption, speaks with us, speaks to us, and invites us to know the Word of God, to love the Word of God, to live with the Word of God, to think with the Word of God. Let’s cherish God’s word in our liturgy and in our daily lives. Mary opens the word to our lives and makes it present in our lives. Mary’s story, Mary’s song, is ours too, calling us as ordinary human beings to stay into a loving relationship with God through his word. She is the Mother of the new World as she is the new Eve and we become a new creation as we are born in Christ, Jesus her Son. (2Corin 5:17).
Our Lady of the Assumption, pray for us!
Fr. Georges Roger BIDZOGO SAC